


Solo Shopping in a Different Time Period- It's Harder Than You Think

by meme_lissa



Series: LU Creative Train (Fluff Track) [5]
Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Awkwardness, Fluff, Gen, Language Barrier, Miscommunication, Overthinking, Shopping, Sort Of, at least it was supposed to be idk what this is, idk why i turned the title into a headline ghfhgfg, mild anxiety, sky is jared 19, why are there so many different hylian alphabets i mean come on
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:33:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26722216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meme_lissa/pseuds/meme_lissa
Summary: When Sky and Legend are tasked with shopping duty for the day, things don't go exactly as planned. Especially since Legend thought splitting up was a good idea. Sky didn't think differences in written languages would complicate things quite this much.(For the LU creative writing train. Prompt: Errand)
Relationships: Legend & Sky (Linked Universe)
Series: LU Creative Train (Fluff Track) [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1938025
Comments: 4
Kudos: 55





	Solo Shopping in a Different Time Period- It's Harder Than You Think

Markets at midday are always crowded. Everyone has something to do or somewhere to be, and it felt the whole town was doing it at once.

Sky didn’t think he had trouble dealing with crowds, but then again, he had never really been around this many people. The population of his home village was dwarfed in comparison to the masses in this square.

The group of heroes had found themselves in Warriors’ Hyrule. As the new self-proclaimed temporary leader of their group, the captain had ordered everyone to restock their supplies, in case of another unexpected shift.

Sky and Legend found themselves on shopping duty and left their inn to navigate the sprawling streets of Castle Town. Though in Sky’s humble opinion, it should’ve been called Castle City. The place was massive.

Now the pair were in the market, with only a shopping list and their wits to guide them. Legend groaned, running his hand through his bangs. “This is a mess. I told you we should’ve left earlier to beat the crowd. At this rate, we’re gonna be stuck here all day.”

Sky winced, knowing this was partially his fault since he decided to sleep in late. “I didn’t expect the crowds to be quite like this…” He frowned, glancing back down to their list.

The captain always put a lot of work into his appearance. His hair always has to be perfectly combed, his armor freshly polished, and his scarf wrapped just right. Warriors clearly didn’t care as much about his handwriting.

To make matters worse, there was a minor language barrier among the group. Though their spoken Hylian had only slightly evolved through the heroes’ different eras, the written forms had changed drastically. At first, Sky couldn’t read these other alphabets at all, but after several months of traveling through time with the ragtag group of Links, he could kind of read some of the newer Hylian scripts. Sometimes. He definitely could not read this list.

“Hey, Leg? Can you figure out what this’s supposed to say?”

The shorter hero was on his tiptoes, craning his neck to try and see over the crowd. He seemed distracted and didn’t answer. Sky began to think he hadn’t heard him, Legend usually complained about that nickname.

He was about to call out again when Legend finally spoke. “We don’t need that list. I looked at it before we left, I couldn’t read it either.” He shrugged and shook his head. “It was probably a lot of useless junk anyway. We just need food and potions. Bombs and arrows too, but that’s always a given.”

Sky squinted at the list again, unsure. There seemed to be a lot more than that written here. Was it all that useless? Either way, Sky guessed it didn’t matter since he couldn’t read the thing. He shrugged and crumpled up the paper.

“Where to first? I think I saw a general store at the corner over there.” Sky pointed off into the crowd, though he knew it didn’t do much good.

Legend didn’t even bother to look. “We should split up. This is gonna take a long time no matter what, might as well do half-and-half.”

Sky nodded thoughtfully, that probably was a better idea. He was a little worried about getting lost, but the marketplace seemed to be reasonably organized. Most of the shops formed a circle around the plaza, with a large fountain as the centerpiece. This shouldn’t be too difficult.

“Okay, meet at the fountain before sundown?”

Legend nodded. “Sure. You take the shops on the east side; I’ll get the west.” The veteran hero winked, giving a salute as he walked backwards into the crowd. “Good luck, bird brain.”

Ah, there’s the comeback. Sky giggled, waving goodbye as Legend disappeared among the townsfolk.

He headed off in the opposite direction, taking care not to bump into anyone as he went. He soon reached an ancient stone building with pots full of multicolored flowers on the doorstep. There was a large sign above the door, but Sky couldn’t make out any sensible words with the stylized font and modern language.

Though thanks to the clothing on display in the windows, he knew that this must be a tailor. They didn’t need any clothes, did they? Sky remembered that Wind had ripped a hole in his favorite pair of pants the other day. Maybe he should pick up some needle and thread.

Sky had a decent knowledge of sewing and tailoring, thanks to what Zelda had taught him. He could definitely fix Wind’s trousers, no problem. Yeah, getting some thread was a good idea. Considering how much Warriors cared about fashion, it’s likely that thread was one of the “useless” things on the list.

The old wooden door creaked as he pulled it open. Though there was a musty odor and the building was ancient, the interior was surprisingly well-kept. It was well-lit, the floors covered in soft carpets, and rows upon rows of fabric in every imaginable color. Sky took a deep breath and sighed. The calm, quiet interior was a great relief from the chaotic marketplace.

He was incredibly tempted to grab a few yards of a floral patterned fabric, thinking that he could make Zelda a new sailcloth. Her old blue one had gotten torn when they were doing construction on their new surface home, and he had been wanting to get her a surprise gift of some sort.

Though it pained him to do so, he resisted the urge and made his way to the threads. Though Warriors was certainly not short on cash, Sky still didn’t want to waste his friend’s money on something they didn’t need.

He picked up a spool of bright orange thread, squinting at the price. Numbers were usually similar through the many different Hylian alphabets, but the print was tiny. Only 5 rupees? Sky highly doubted this, but he couldn’t figure out what else it could be. Thread was usually pretty cheap, after all.

Sky had only planned on getting enough to mend Wind’s pants, but since this was such a good deal, why not get more? Clothes were always getting torn in battle and through rough travel.

He excitedly grabbed several more spools, trying to remember the colors of everyone else’s clothes. So many different shades of green, so many colors to choose from! He figured twenty different colors would be sufficient.

Struggling not to drop any, the Skyloftian bundled the spools in his arms and carried them to the counter. Thankfully, nobody was in line, so he dumped the load on the table. A few rouge spools rolled off the shelf, despite Sky’s clumsy effort at catching them. At least they weren’t breakable.

The cashier, a young Hylian who seemed only slightly older than Sky, didn’t seem to be amused. “You sure you don’t need any more than that?” he deadpanned dryly, staring at the almost comically large stack of spools.

Sky shook his head and smiled. “Nope, I think it’ll be enough.”

The cashier rolled his eyes. “Well then, with twenty spools at 15 rupees each, that makes your total 300 rupees.”

Sky’s stomach dropped. He knew that the five rupee price was too good to be true. He should probably put the others back and just get the orange thread, as initially planned. However, another customer had gotten in line behind him, and he began to sweat nervously. Sky hated inconveniencing others and didn’t want to keep this person waiting. He’d just go with it.

The hero smiled awkwardly at the cashier, setting his prepared silver rupee on the counter as he rummaged through his wallet for more. Warriors had given him and Legend 3,000 rupees, and they had split it between themselves. He’d probably have enough money left for whatever else he needed to pick up. Hopefully.

After procuring the remaining rupees, he muttered a quick thank you and shoved the threads into his pouch. He needed to be serious about this next one- no more impulse buys. Sky internally cursed himself for getting carried away.

The square was emptier now as the midday rush shifted into the early afternoon. Sky had room to breathe this time as he explored the marketplace, looking in every window as he passed.

He had always thought that the bazaar back home in Skyloft was overwhelming. There was always something to do. The Castle Town market made the bazaar look like a struggling traveling merchant.

So many different shops, so many cute trinkets and cool gadgets he wished he could buy, though he knew there was no use for them. He didn’t want to end up a hoarder like Legend or Wild. Not everyone has access to magical infinite storage.

The hero stopped in his tracks as he suddenly realized that he nearly filled his pouch. After all of that thread, he would be lucky to fit a single bottle or quiver of arrows in there.

Legend could easily carry the rest in his pack. This still posed an issue; Sky would still have to carry whatever he purchased until he rendezvoused with the other hero. Maybe, if he met Legend _exactly_ on time, that would minimize the chances of him dropping something possibly fragile. He just needed waste some time- but not too much time- before his next stop.

Sky took a deep breath and caught the sweet smell of something baking. Conveniently, his window shopping endeavors had led him to a bakery. And he realized that he was, indeed, quite hungry. A quick bite to eat would probably kill enough time for him to meet Legend on time at sundown.

Hunger satisfied after some of the best pastries Sky had ever tasted; it was time for the errands to continue. Predictably, he had ended up taking longer than he had intended to, but at least he hadn’t fallen asleep this time. Sky always found himself losing track of time to his thoughts and daydreams. He lived up to his nickname; his head was always in the clouds.

Thankfully, there was still at least an hour left until sunset, and there was an apothecary adjacent to the bakery. Though, after seeing the masses of people crowded inside, Sky couldn’t help but feel a twinge of anxiety in his stomach. He didn’t want Legend to wait long. How was he supposed to know that the potion shop would be so crowded?

In retrospect, Sky knew he should’ve realized this before. Potions are generally more cost-effective than doctors, and with a city as big as this, they would be in high demand. At least Legend was practically his brother and not someone more intimidating. Like someone of authority. Or someone Sky wasn’t on good terms with. Or even just someone tall. Taller than Sky, at least.

The vibes of the potion shop felt almost opposite to the tailors. It wasn’t well organized in the slightest, with piles of random junk lining the floor by the walls. There were no self-serve vats of potions like back in the bazaar. Everyone had to wait in line, tell the shopkeeper what they needed, wait for him to gather their order, and then pay. High demand, slow service, and small waiting areas don’t mix well.

If Sky hadn’t felt claustrophobic in the crowded square earlier, he definitely did in this coffin of a building. It’s kind of hard to quell one’s anxiety when multiple different factors from all sides are making it worse. Being trapped in a hot and stuffy room with dozens of strangers isn’t a pleasant experience for anyone. And, of course, he was still worried about the shopping itself. Would he have enough money for all the potions they needed? Probably. Maybe? Hopefully.

It felt like time inside the shop dragged on and on, while the deadline grew ever closer outside. Sky felt like he kept repeating the same thoughts over and over. _It’s not a big deal. It’s just Legend. He might be annoyed, but he’ll get over it, right? Won’t he? How long have I been in here? There’s so many people…_

He could feel the sweat getting worse, slowly dampening his thick hair and rolling down the back of his neck. Oh, how he hoped that nobody noticed how uncomfortable he was.

_Sundown is definitely soon… Oh, sweet Hylia, I never should’ve gone in that bakery…_

The monotonous ambiance of restless patrons was broken by a shout. “I said, next! Excuse me, sir. We’re closing soon, please don’t hold the line.”

Sky jumped, realizing that he had somehow reached the front of the line without even noticing. His cheeks grew hot, oh how he prayed that the low light of the room disguised his embarrassment.

The clerk was an ancient man, probably the sole keeper of the business. His old apron was discolored in many places, likely from years of brewing the various concoctions he had for sale. His displeased expression paired with Sky’s lack of confidence made him quite intimidating, despite his short height.

Sky, not wanting to confront his obliviousness, pointedly avoided eye contact and looked over his options. There were only five different potions for sale, and though they were labeled, he couldn’t read them. Once again, his relative age compared to the language of the world around him would be his downfall.

Of the potions available, Sky only recognized three. The red, of course, would be a Heart Potion. Out of the many things that Sky was thankful for, which was a lot of things, he was grateful that one of the few consistencies out of the many inconsistent eras of Hyrule were the red health potions.

One of the cauldrons was filled with a bright magenta fluid, which looked quite similar to Revitalizing potion. Sky had told the other heroes about it once, thinking it may be useful for Wild’s frequent and chronic breaking of weapons, but none of the others had ever heard of such a thing. Had Warriors been present for that conversation? What did his purple potions do? It wouldn’t hurt to get some, either way.

There was a green potion, which Sky could only figure to be a Stamina Potion. Sky could only remember himself and Wild ever needing them, the rest of the heroes all somehow got by without them. He’d buy two of those, one for each of them.

His remaining two choices were mysteries. One was a deep blue liquid, much too dark to be an Air Potion, while the other was a bright yellow, similar to the color of pumpkin soup. 

Typically, when faced with something new or unknown, most people will ask about it. Most people would ask what the mystery potions did. Unfortunately, Sky wasn’t ‘most people.’ And he was acutely aware of the waning patience of the line behind him. Plus, how was he supposed to explain that he couldn’t read?

He panicked and decided just to get some of everything. Warriors could tell him what they all did later.

“Young man, are you going to make a decision, or are you just here to make everyone wait longer?”

Sky winced, forcing himself to make eye contact. The clerk had his eyes narrowed, and though frail, he looked like he wouldn’t hesitate to literally kick Sky out of the building if he wasted any more time.

Sky tried his best to pull together a polite smile. “S-sorry, sir. I, um…” _Oh no._

He realized with horror that he only had four bottles. Legend had taken the other’s bottles this morning and was still holding onto them. Sky only had his own.

He pulled them out of his pouch and handed them to the clerk. “Could- could I get four Heart Potions, please?”

The man raised an eyebrow but said nothing as he filled Sky’s order. Oh yeah. Every other time period just called them red potions. He really was a master of making a fool of himself.

“I usually sell potions pre-bottled, but I do offer a 10 rupee discount if you provide your own. So, that makes your total 160 rupees.”

Sky immediately perked up. He should’ve noticed before, no wonder there were so many pre-prepared bottles on the shelves. He was so used to Skyloft that he forgot about these high-end places that didn’t make people bring their own containers. So what if it was more expensive? He still had money left.

“In that case… could I add one yellow potion, one blue potion, two green potions, and…” He paused, trying to remember how much money he had. He didn’t trust himself to read these numbers correctly after the incident at the tailor’s earlier. “…how much would that make my total?”

His foray into the bakery had cost him 40 rupees, and Sky could feel himself regretting it more and more every second.

The shopkeeper replied without hesitation. “1,010 rupees.”

Sky silently envied his quick math, trying his best to figure out how much he’d have left over. Once again, remembering the growing line behind him, he panicked and emptied his whole wallet onto the counter and counted out the total. He could feel the burning eyes of silent judgment from everyone in the room.

Though expected but still dismayed, Sky found that he only had 150 rupees left over. Why did everything in this town need to be so expensive?

Sky gave the clerk another pained smile, knowing that each smile grew less and less convincing. “How much could I get with 150?”

The man rolled his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh, his patience wearing thinner by the second. “One blue potion, a purple potion and a red potion, or three red potions.”

“Uh, purple and red, please,” he responded, though he wished he could’ve gotten more Revitalizing potion because Wild _really_ needed it.

And so, after several long minutes of stacking bottles and holding up the line that much longer, Sky exited the apothecary’s shop with ten potions in his arms.

Of course, when he finally made it back outside, the stars had begun to come out. The sun was well below the horizon, and the only hint of the day before were the fading pink hues in the western sky.

The square was almost completely deserted, despite the potion shop’s high traffic. Sky felt his stomach drop in shame, and he wondered how many poor customers wouldn’t get their shopping done on time because of him.

The daylight had nearly faded, but the streetlamps had yet to be lit. It probably hadn’t been too long since sundown, right? Hopefully Legend hadn’t been waiting too long.

Sky shifted his arms, struggling to see in front of him. The bottles didn’t obscure his entire field of vision, but the growing twilight made things that much more difficult. Sky could only make out a silhouette of a person by the fountain, their posture clearly displaying their displeasure.

“What the _hell_ took you so long!? Did you take a nap or something?”

Sky didn’t need to see Legend’s face to know how annoyed he was. Yeah, this was what he had been dreading.

“And why are you carrying all those potions like that? You’re going to drop-”

On cue, Sky stumbled and tripped on a chunk of cobblestone. His life- well, more like what was left of his dignity- flashed before his eyes. Legend lunged forward, nimbly catching the potions before they hit the ground. Sky yelped and gritted his teeth as his elbow slammed onto the base of the fountain, painfully breaking his fall.

Legend offered a hand to his friend, pulling him back up from his tumble. “Good Goddesses, Sky, are you just an accident magnet or something? This was almost a repeat of the Lurelin incident.”

The taller hero let out a nervous laugh, cringing at the memory. All those bottles, floating out to sea, and it had been his fault.

“Well, I think accidents are just in a hero’s job description anyways.” Sky chuckled. He ruffled his hair, brushing his fallen bangs away from his eyes.

He still couldn’t see well in the low light, but he could tell how dramatically Legend was rolling his eyes by the tilt of his head. “Whatever, we were lucky this time, none of them broke. Why didn’t you just put them in your bag?”

“Not all of us have magic storage, Leg.”

Legend huffed and began storing the bottles in his bag. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. It doesn’t matter, let’s just get back to the inn before Twi sends out a search party.” He paused, squinting at one of the potions. “Is this… is this a purple potion?? Why’d you get a purple potion?”

Sky frowned at the question. “Well, any kind of healing is useful, and Wild breaks everything, so I thought-”

Legend held a hand up, cutting him off. “Wait, wait, wait, hold on a second.” He stood back up, readjusting his hat from where it had folded over his shoulder. “Do you know what purple potions do?”

Oh, right. Hyrule’s inconsistency struck again. Sky pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration as they began making their way to the inn.

“Back in Skyloft, we called them Revitalizing Potions, and they could be used to repair broken weapons. They had healing properties too.”

The pink-haired hero sighed in resignation. “Well, in my Hyrule, purple potions obliterate every enemy around you, and chances are, they don’t recognize friendlies.”

Now it made sense why Legend was so concerned. Having something like that in a chaotic group like theirs definitely wouldn’t end well.

“So, in other words, we have no idea what that potion does.”

Sky laughed. “Nope.”

“Didn’t you read the labels? Or ask the shopkeeper?”

The Skyloftian rubbed the back of his neck guiltily. “Well, the ‘labels’ didn’t look like they said much, and I couldn’t read them anyway. And the line was so long, I just, I don’t know. I panicked.”

Legend tilted his head in confusion. “You… you can’t read?”

“Well, not this Hylian, no. I have trouble reading most versions of modern Hylian, actually.”

“And you never asked for help?”

Sky didn’t answer, lowering his head in shame.

Legend scoffed. “Oh come on, Sky, seriously? You’re almost as stubborn as I am. Stop feeling like you’re a burden and just let us help.”

Sky looked back up at his friend, surprised. After his disaster of an afternoon, and the near loss of his purchases, Legend still didn’t think Sky was a problem?

“Are you sure? You said it yourself; I’m an accident magnet. I don’t want to inconvenience anyone with my problems.”

The Hero of Legend reached up and patted the Hero of the Sky on the shoulder. “Well, you said it yourself too, that’s just part of being a dude named Link.” Legend started to chuckle, and Sky blushed in happy embarrassment as he joined in the laughter.

“Yeah, yeah… I guess it is.”

“Wait, what do you mean you spent 300 rupees on thread??”


End file.
